Gloves, touchscreens, and you

[SilentPanda]

It's October! Yay! But for some people it's starting to get a tad colder and probably going to get even more so as the months keep going. Sure our fancy touch screens have been great thus far. But what about this winter? You start slipping on your gloves (or mittens) and are outside, want to call a friend or answer your phone... oops! Gotta take your glove off to do so.

From my understanding the iPhone and iPod Touch both work not by pressure but by the electrical charge in your body. If your glove is thick enough it will prevent the electricity from hitting the screen. Try it now with a thickish piece of fabric. It works if it's thin enough but I'm certain some gloves will prohibit iPhone usage.

What are people thinking about doing? Cut off the finger tips of your gloves? Send an electrical charge through your mittens? Getting an iGlove? Pulling a Michael Jackson? Learning to dial with your nose?

 

[Bernie-Mac]

Learning to dial with your nose?

This is something i have already mastered

 

[Fuchal]

Put me down for pulling a Michael Jackson.

 

[erandall38]

California... gotta love it.

Geez it has been so long since I lived in the Midwest I totally forgot about gloves.

 

[chr1s60]

I kind of wonder if Apple will address this problem. Where I live it only gets below freezing a dozen or so days per year so it isn't that big of a deal, but for people in really cold places this will be an issue. After thinking about it I realized an easy solution. Apple simply needs to release an update that adds a new way to answer the phone. Perhaps a double tap on the home button when getting a call could be used to answer the phone. This would eliminate the need of taking off gloves to answer a call. There would still be issues when dialing or doing anything else outside, but I think receiving calls is more important since there is a limited time you have to actually answer.

 

[boss1]

+

 

[desenso]

Just out of curiosity, how many phones out there CAN you use with gloves? Obviously you can push buttons, but not with any real degree of accuracy. I suppose answering is at least possible in a way that would not be on the iPhone.....

Valid question though.

 

[boss1]

Just out of curiosity, how many phones out there CAN you use with gloves? Obviously you can push buttons, but not with any real degree of accuracy. I suppose answering is at least possible in a way that would not be on the iPhone.....

Valid question though.

Good point. I'd pay 100 bucks to see someone text and make calls on a sidekick or a BB with a pair of wooly winter gloves on. Even when I had bigger button phones like my NExtel Motorola 2 way phone I had to take a glove off to dial a number.

 

[Sobe]

unless you're using your phone in weather where exposure of skin to the elements means instant frostbite, does it really matter?

If you use gloves, just pull em off.

If the caller can't let the phone ring 3-4 times, or you fumble it..well that's what visual voicemail is for.

As an aside, I wonder if it got cold enough, if you licked your iPhone would your tongue stick to it.

 

[boss1]

As an aside, I wonder if it got cold enough, if you licked your iPhone would your tongue stick to it.

i'd pay 100 bucks to see that too lol

 

[Bernie-Mac]

Where im from, the coldest it gets is maybe 40 degrees in the winter time, gotta love Vegas

 

[72930]

When on a skiing trip, I occasionally phone with my gloves on using my Samsung T100...

 

[ejrizo]

California!

 

[rmapple]

BEST place in California! San Diego!!!

 

[kdarling]

Just out of curiosity, how many phones out there CAN you use with gloves? Obviously you can push buttons, but not with any real degree of accuracy. I suppose answering is at least possible in a way that would not be on the iPhone.....

Valid question though.

How many phones can you use with gloves? A lot, since the main thing (as you said) is to just be able to answer it when it rings.

One of the reasons I like clamshells is because they can be set to answer upon opening (caller id is on the outside LCD).

Most of the smartphones have dedicated Send (Answer) buttons that are towards the outside where they can be used with gloves as well.

Of course, someone said you could always wear the ear buds and use the switch, right?

As for making a call, sure you'd probably take off your glove. Or if not, perhaps hold down a speed-dial button (or use voice dialing) on regular phones.